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Use Environmental Print to Practice Literacy Skills

If you have struggling readers at home or at school, practicing with environmental print may be the solution to your literacy problem. My English Language Learners often come to class with very little exposure to American vocabulary, and environmental print has helped them get a better grasp on letters and sounds.

Once, I had a class of ELL first graders working in pairs with letter flashcards, and one student started sniffling and tearing up. When I knelt down to help him along, he showed me the card; it was J for Jam, but he had never had jam before, didn't know what it was, and was afraid he would be in trouble for not knowing. After a hug and a few tissues, I collected all the flashcards and we sat down with Google Images to find other words that started with J. I started using environmental print the very next day, and am so glad I did...no more tears!

Whether at home or at school, print is really all around us. From food wrappers to license plates, children are exposed to words from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep. Use that to your advantage! There are so many ways to use environmental print at home or at school to help early or struggling readers. Here are just a few!

Spread out word cards and ask students to put in order using directions you give

Allow students to discuss likes/dislikes with a friend, then summarize the conversation

You can use environmental print to practice math skills by counting and comparing letters, and practice social studies skills by finding out if there is a McDonald's in every country. How else can you use environmental print in your class? For more information and research about environmental print, read this or this!